Crystallization and structure determination of beta secretase and/or beta secretase-like proteins

ABSTRACT

The x-ray crystal structure of human BACE or BACE-like proteins is useful for solving the structure of other molecules or molecular complexes, and identifying and/or designing potential modifiers of human BACE activity.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/143,502, filed May 10, 2002, an allowed application, and claims the benefit under 35 USC section 119 of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/290,107, filed May 10, 2001. The complete content of both applications is incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth.

This application incorporates by reference the material contained on the duplicate (2) compact discs submitted herewith. Each disc contains the following file:

Name Size Contents Date of File Creation table_1.txt 470 kbytes Table 1 May 9, 2001 table_2.txt 241 kbytes Table 2 Feb. 15, 2001

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the crystallization and structure determination of beta secretase, also known as memapsin 2 and BACE, from human (Homo sapiens), preferably in a glycosylated form, as expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) with its N-terminus proteolytically cleaved by HIV protease.

BACKGROUND

Alzheimer's disease (AD) causes progressive dementia with consequent formation of amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, gliosis and neuronal loss. The disease occurs in both genetic and sporadic forms whose clinical course and pathological features are quite similar. Three genes have been discovered to date which, when mutated, cause an autosomal dominant form of Alzheimer's disease. These encode the amyloid protein precursor (APP) and two related proteins, presenilin-1 (PS1) and presenilin-2 (PS2), which, as their names suggest, are structurally and functionally related. Mutations in any of the three proteins have been observed to enhance proteolytic processing of APP via an intracellular pathway that produces amyloid beta peptide (Aβ peptide, or sometimes here as Abeta), a 40-42 amino acid long peptide that is the primary component of amyloid plaque in AD.

Dysregulation of intracellular pathways for proteolytic processing may be central to the pathophysiology of AD. In the case of plaque formation, mutations in APP, PS1 or PS2 consistently alter the proteolytic processing of APP so as to enhance formation of Aβ 1-42, a form of the Aβ peptide which seems to be particularly amyloidogenic, and thus very important in AD. Different forms of APP range in size from 695-770 amino acids, localize to the cell surface, and have a single C-terminal transmembrane domain. The Abeta peptide is derived from a region of APP adjacent to and containing a portion of the transmembrane domain. Normally, processing of APP at the α-secretase site cleaves the midregion of the Aβ sequence adjacent to the membrane and releases the soluble, extracellular domain of APP from the cell surface. This α-secretase APP processing creates soluble APP-α, which is normal and not thought to contribute to AD. Pathological processing of APP at the β- and γ-secretase sites, which are located N-terminal and C-terminal to the α-secretase site, respectively, produces a very different result than processing at the α site. Sequential processing at the β- and γ-secretase sites releases the Aβ peptide, a peptide possibly very important in AD pathogenesis. Processing at the β- and γ-secretase sites can occur in both the endoplasmic reticulum (in neurons) and in the endosomal/lysosomal pathway after reinternalization of cell surface APP (in all cells). Despite intense efforts, for 10 years or more, to identify the enzymes responsible for processing APP at the β and γ sites, to produce the Aβ peptide, those proteases remained unknown until recently. The identification and characterization of the β secretase enzyme, termed Aspartyl Protease 2 (Asp2) has been established. In addition, the X-ray crystal structure of human beta secretase in complex with a peptide inhibitor was solved and published (Hong et al., Science, 290:150-53 (2000)) from protein expressed in E. coli that contained no covalent sugar (glycosylation) at any of the four putative glycosylation sites within the enzyme.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the present invention provides a crystal of beta secretase. In one embodiment, the crystal has tetragonal space group symmetry P4₃2₁2, and preferably, the beta secretase includes glycosylated beta secretase. In another embodiment, the crystal of beta secretase includes a unit cell defined by the dimensions a, b, c, α, β, and γ, wherein a is about 94 Å to about 134 Å, b is about 94 Å to about 134 Å, c is about 170 Å to about 210 Å, and α=β=γ=90°. Preferably, the crystal has tetragonal space group symmetry P4₃2₁2. Methods of using the crystals in drug screening assays are also provided.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method for crystallizing a human beta secretase molecule or molecular complex. The method includes preparing purified human beta secretase in the presence of a potential modifier and crystallizing the human beta secretase from a solution having a pH of about 3.5 to about 5.6.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method for modifying a human beta secretase including contacting the human beta secretase with an HIV protease under conditions sufficient to produce a proteolytically cleaved human beta secretase, wherein the N-terminus of the proteolytically cleaved human beta secretase differs from the N-terminus of the non-cleaved human beta secretase. Methods for crystallizing the modified human beta secretase molecule or molecular complex, and crystals prepared thereby, are also provided.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a molecule or molecular complex that forms a crystal having tetragonal space group symmetry P4₃2₁2 and includes at least a portion of a human beta secretase or beta secretase-like binding pocket, wherein the binding pocket includes the amino acids listed in Table 3 and the binding pocket is defined by a set of points having a root mean square deviation of less than about 0.45 Å from points representing the backbone atoms of said amino acids as represented by the structure coordinates listed in Table 1.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a scalable three-dimensional configuration of points, at least a portion of said points being derived from structure coordinates as listed in Table 1 of at least a portion of a human beta secretase molecule or molecular complex that forms a crystal having tetragonal space group symmetry P4₃2₁2 and that includes a human beta secretase or beta secretase-like binding pocket. Preferably the scalable three-dimensional configuration of points are displayed as a holographic image, a stereodiagram, a model, or a computer-displayed image.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a machine-readable data storage medium including a data storage material encoded with machine readable data which, when using a machine programmed with instructions for using said data, displays a graphical three-dimensional representation of a molecule or molecular complex. Preferably the molecule or molecular complex includes at least a portion of a human beta secretase or beta secretase-like binding pocket including the amino acids listed in Table 3, the binding pocket being defined by a set of points having a root mean square deviation of less than about 0.45 Å from points representing the backbone atoms of said amino acids as represented by structure coordinates listed in Table 1 for a beta secretase or beta secretase-like molecule or molecular complex that forms a crystal having a unit cell defined by the dimensions a, b, c, α, β, and γ, wherein a is about 94 Å to about 134 Å, b is about 94 Å to about 134 Å, c is about 170 Å to about 210 Å, and α=β=γ=90°.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method for obtaining structural information about a molecule or a molecular complex of unknown structure. In one embodiment, the method includes crystallizing the molecule or molecular complex; generating an x-ray diffraction pattern from the crystallized molecule or molecular complex; and applying to the x-ray diffraction pattern at least a portion of the structure coordinates as set forth in Table 1 for human beta secretase that forms a crystal having tetragonal space group symmetry P4₃2₁2, to generate a three-dimensional electron density map of at least a portion of the molecule or molecular complex whose structure is unknown.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method for homology modeling a human beta secretase homolog. In one embodiment, the method includes aligning the amino acid sequence of a human beta secretase homolog with an amino acid sequence of human beta secretase and incorporating the sequence of the human beta secretase homolog into a model of human beta secretase formed from structure coordinates as set forth in Table 1 for human beta secretase that forms a crystal having a unit cell defined by the dimensions a, b, c, α, β, and γ, wherein a is about 94 Å to about 134 Å, b is about 94 Å to about 134 Å, c is about 170 Å to about 210 Å, and α=β=γ=90°, to yield a preliminary model of the human beta secretase homolog; subjecting the preliminary model to energy minimization to yield an energy minimized model; and remodeling regions of the energy minimized model where stereochemistry restraints are violated to yield a final model of the human beta secretase homolog.

In another aspect, the present invention provides computer-assisted methods for identifying, designing, or making a potential modifier of human beta secretase activity. Preferably the methods include screening a library of chemical entities.

Abbreviations

The following abbreviations may be used throughout this disclosure:

-   -   Alzheimer's disease (AD)     -   3-[(1,1-Dimethylhydroxyethyl)amino]-2-hydroxy-1-propanesulfonic         acid (AMPSO)     -   Amyloid beta peptide (Aβ peptide or Abeta)     -   Amyloid protein precursor (APP)     -   Aspartyl protease 2 (Asp2)     -   Beta amyloid cleaving enzyme (BACE, memapsin 2, beta secretase)     -   β-Mercaptoethanol (BME)     -   Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO)     -   3-Cyclohexylamino-1-propanesulfonic acid (CAPS)     -   Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)     -   Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)     -   4-(2-Hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid (HEPES)     -   2-Methyl-2,4-pentanediol (MPD)     -   4-Morpholineethanesulfonic acid (MES)     -   Multiple anomalous dispersion (MAD)     -   Presenilin-1 (PS1)     -   Presenilin-2 (PS2)     -   Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)     -   2-Amino-2-hydroxymethyl-1,3-propanediol (TRIS)     -   TE-TRIS-EDTA

The following amino acid abbreviations are used throughout this disclosure:

A = Ala = Alanine T = Thr = Threonine V = Val = Valine C = Cys = Cysteine L = Leu = Leucine Y = Tyr = Tyrosine I = Ile = Isoleucine N = Asn = Asparagine P = Pro = Proline Q = Gln = Glutamine F = Phe = Phenylalanine D = Asp = Aspartic Acid W = Trp = Tryptophan E = Glu = Glutamic Acid M = Met = Methionine K = Lys = Lysine G = Gly = Glycine R = Arg = Arginine S = Ser = Serine H = His = Histidine

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is an illustration of the chemical structure of a modifier used in co-crystallization experiments.

FIG. 2 is the synthetic peptide Ser-Glu-Val-Asn-Sta-Val-Ala-Glu-Phe-Arg-Gly-Gly-Cys (where Sta=statine) (SEQ ID NO:3) used for affinity purification of beta secretase.

FIG. 3 is an Fo-Fc electron density map for the modifier illustrated in FIG. 1 at 2.9 Å contoured at 2a.

FIG. 4 is a stereo view of a C^(α) trace of two monomers in the asymmetric unit of this crystal form of human beta secretase (grey line) in the presence of the modifier illustrated in FIG. 1. The modifier trace is indicated by a dark black line.

FIG. 5 depicts a stereo view of the active site of human beta secretase (illustrated with light gray carbons, dark gray oxygens, and black nitrogens) with the modifier illustrated in FIG. 1. The general location of the modifier is indicated by an arrow (illustrated with light gray carbons, dark gray oxygens, and black nitrogens). The iodine atom is circled and the two fluorine atoms are indicated by a “•” symbol.

FIG. 6 depicts distance of the interactions between the modifier and the active site of beta secretase. Amino acid residues involved in the interactions are labeled and distances are given in Å.

FIG. 7 depicts the sequence alignment of the E. coli expressed recombinant human beta secretase (SEQ ID NO:1) and the CHO cell expressed recombinant human beta secretase proteolytically cleaved with HIV protease (SEQ ID NO:2) present in the crystal structure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Tables 1 and 2 list atomic structure coordinates derived by x-ray diffraction of a crystal of human beta secretase expressed in CHO cells with the N-terminus proteolytically cleaved by HIV protease (Table 1, P4₃2₁2 crystal form) and without the proteolytic cleavage (Table 2, P3₂21 crystal form). Column 2 lists a number for the atom in the structure. Column 3 lists the element whose coordinates are measured. The first letter in the column defines the element. Column 4 lists the type of amino acid. Column 5 lists a number for the amino acid in the structure. Columns 6-8 list the crystallographic coordinates X, Y, and Z respectively. The crystallographic coordinates define the atomic position of the element measured. Column 9 lists an occupancy factor that refers to the fraction of the molecules in which each atom occupies the position specified by the coordinates. A value of “1” indicates that each atom has the same conformation, i.e., the same position, in all molecules of the crystal. Column 10 lists a thermal factor “B” that measures movement of the atom around its atomic center. Column 11 lists the chain id (AA for molecule A in the asymmetric unit, BB for molecule B in the asymmetric unit, CC for molecule C in the asymmetric unit, WW for water molecules, and LL for inhibitor molecules). Column 12 lists the element whose coordinates are measured.

Crystalline Form(S) and Method of Making

The three-dimensional structure of human beta secretase was solved using x-ray crystallography to 2.9 Å resolution. Accordingly, the invention includes a human beta secretase crystal and/or a crystal with human beta secretase co-crystallized with a ligand. As used herein, “ligand” refers to a chemical entity that can form a reversible complex with the protein and that could function as a drug candidate (e.g., modifiers and inhibitors). Thus, the term “ligand” as used herein does not include chemical entities that could not function as a drug candidate (e.g., water, metal ions, and solvents). Preferably, the crystal has tetragonal space group symmetry P4₃2₁2. Preferably, the crystal includes tetragonal shaped unit cells, each unit cell having dimensions a=114.0±20 Å, b=114±20 Å, c=190±20 Å, and α=β=γ=90°. More preferably, the crystal includes tetragonal shaped unit cells, each unit cell having dimensions a=114.0±5 Å, b=114±5 Å, c=190±5 Å, and α=β=γ=90°. Most preferably, the crystal includes tetragonal shaped unit cells, each unit cell having dimensions a=114.0 Å, b=114 Å, c=190 Å, and α=β=γ=90°. Preferably, the crystallized enzyme is a monomer with two monomers in the asymmetric unit.

According to the present invention, human beta secretase can be isolated from a variety of cell lines, for example, the mammalian cell line CHO-K1.

As used herein, a “molecular complex” means a protein in covalent or non-covalent association with a chemical entity (e.g., a ligand). In a preferred embodiment, molecular complexes of purified human beta secretase at a concentration of about 1 mg/ml to about 80 mg/ml may be crystallized in the presence of a modifier at a concentration of about 0.1 to about 10 mM, for example, by using a streak seeding procedure from a solution. Preferably, the solution includes about 5% by weight to about 50% by weight PEG, PEG-MME (PEG monomethyl ether), PEG-DME (PEG dimethyl ether), or polyoxyalkylenepolyamines that preferably have a number average molecular weight of about 200 to about 20,000 (e.g., materials available under the trade designation JEFFAMINE from Huntsman Corp., Salt Lake City, Utah). Optionally, the solution includes a salt. When the solution includes a salt, preferably the solution includes at most about 0.5 M salt. Exemplary salts include sodium chloride, ammonium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, lithium sulfate, or combinations thereof. Optionally, the solution includes about 0% by weight to about 40% by weight organic solvent (e.g., DMSO or MPD), preferably at most about 20% by weight organic solvent. Preferably, the solution is buffered to a pH of about 3.5 to about 5.6 and more preferably about 4.0 to about 4.7. A buffer having a pK_(a) of about 3 to about 6 is preferred for use in the crystallization method. A particularly preferred buffer is about 10 mM to about 200 mM sodium acetate. Variation in buffer and buffer pH as well as other additives such as PEG, PEG-MME, PEG-DME, or polyoxyalkylenepolyamines is apparent to those skilled in the art and may result in similar crystals.

The invention further includes a human beta secretase crystal that is isomorphous with a human beta secretase crystal having a unit cell defined by the dimensions of a, b, c, α, β, and γ, wherein a is about 94 Å to about 134 Å, b is about 94 Å to about 134 Å, c is about 170 Å to about 210 Å; and α=β=γ=90°.

X-Ray Crystallographic Analysis

Each of the constituent amino acids of human beta secretase is defined by a set of structure coordinates as set forth in Table 1. The term “structure coordinates” refers to Cartesian coordinates derived from mathematical equations related to the patterns obtained on diffraction of a monochromatic beam of x-rays by the atoms (scattering centers) of a human beta secretase complex in crystal form. The diffraction data are used to calculate an electron density map of the repeating unit of the crystal. The electron density maps are then used to establish the positions of the individual atoms of the human beta secretase protein or protein/ligand complex.

Slight variations in structure coordinates can be generated by mathematically manipulating the human beta secretase or human beta secretase/ligand structure coordinates. For example, the structure coordinates set forth in Table 1 could be manipulated by crystallographic permutations of the structure coordinates, fractionalization of the structure coordinates, integer additions or subtractions to sets of the structure coordinates, inversion of the structure coordinates or any combination of the above. Alternatively, modifications in the crystal structure due to mutations, additions, substitutions, and/or deletions of amino acids, or other changes in any of the components that make up the crystal, could also yield variations in structure coordinates. Such slight variations in the individual coordinates will have little effect on overall shape. If such variations are within an acceptable standard error as compared to the original coordinates, the resulting three-dimensional shape is considered to be structurally equivalent. Structural equivalence is described in more detail below.

It should be noted that slight variations in individual structure coordinates of the human beta secretase would not be expected to significantly alter the nature of chemical entities such as ligands that could associate with the binding pockets. In this context, the phrase “associating with” refers to a condition of proximity between a chemical entity, or portions thereof, and a human beta secretase molecule or portions thereof. The association may be non-covalent, wherein the juxtaposition is energetically favored by hydrogen bonding, van der Waals forces, or electrostatic interactions, or it may be covalent. Thus, for example, a ligand that bound to a binding pocket of human beta secretase would also be expected to bind to or interfere with a structurally equivalent binding pocket.

For the purpose of this invention, any molecule or molecular complex or binding pocket thereof, or any portion thereof, that has a root mean square deviation of conserved residue backbone atoms (N, Ca, C, O) of less than about 0.45 Å, when superimposed on the relevant backbone atoms described by the reference structure coordinates listed in Table 1, is considered “structurally equivalent” to the reference molecule. That is to say, the crystal structures of those portions of the two molecules are substantially identical, within acceptable error. As used herein, “residue” refers to one or more atoms. Particularly preferred structurally equivalent molecules or molecular complexes are those that are defined by the entire set of structure coordinates listed in Table 1 ±a root mean square deviation from the conserved backbone atoms of those amino acids of less than about 0.45 Å. More preferably, the root mean square deviation is at most about 0.35 Å, and most preferably at most about 0.2 Å. Other embodiments of this invention include a molecular complex defined by the structure coordinates listed in Table 1 for those amino acids listed in Table 3, Table 4, or Table 5, ±a root mean square deviation from the conserved backbone atoms of those amino acids of less than about 0.45 Å, preferably at most about 0.35 Å, and more preferably at most about 0.2 Å.

The term “root mean square deviation” means the square root of the arithmetic mean of the squares of the deviations. It is a way to express the deviation or variation from a trend or object. For purposes of this invention, the “root mean square deviation” defines the variation in the backbone of a protein from the backbone of human beta secretase or a binding pocket portion thereof, as defined by the structure coordinates of human beta secretase described herein.

It will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art that the numbering of amino acids in other isoforms of human beta secretase may be different than that of human beta secretase expressed in CHO.

Active Site and Other Structural Features

Applicants' invention provides information about the shape and structure of the binding pocket of human beta secretase in the presence of a potential modifier. The secondary structure of the human beta secretase monomer includes two domains consistent with a typical aspartic protease fold.

Binding pockets are of significant utility in fields such as drug discovery. The association of natural ligands or substrates with the binding pockets of their corresponding receptors or enzymes is the basis of many biological mechanisms of action. Similarly, many drugs exert their biological effects through association with the binding pockets of receptors and enzymes. Such associations may occur with all or any parts of the binding pocket. An understanding of such associations helps lead to the design of drugs having more favorable associations with their target, and thus improved biological effects. Therefore, this information is valuable in designing potential modifiers of beta secretase-like binding pockets, as discussed in more detail below.

The term “binding pocket,” as used herein, refers to a region of a molecule or molecular complex, that, as a result of its shape, favorably associates with another chemical entity. Thus, a binding pocket may include or consist of features such as cavities, surfaces, or interfaces between domains. Chemical entities that may associate with a binding pocket include, but are not limited to, cofactors, substrates, modifiers, agonists, and antagonists.

The amino acid constituents of a human beta secretase binding pocket as defined herein are positioned in three dimensions in accordance with the structure coordinates listed in Table 1. In one aspect, the structure coordinates defining a binding pocket of human beta secretase include structure coordinates of all atoms in the constituent amino acids; in another aspect, the structure coordinates of a binding pocket include structure coordinates of just the backbone atoms of the constituent amino acids.

The binding pocket of human beta secretase preferably includes the amino acids listed in Table 3, more preferably the amino acids listed in Table 4, and most preferably the amino acids listed in Table 5, as represented by the structure coordinates listed in Table 1. Alternatively, the binding pocket of human beta secretase may be defined by those amino acids whose backbone atoms are situated within about 4 Å, more preferably within about 7 Å, most preferably within about 10 Å, of one or more constituent atoms of a bound substrate or modifier. In yet another alternative, the binding pocket may be defined by those amino acids whose backbone atoms are situated within a sphere centered on the coordinates representing the alpha carbon atom of residue Thr 231, the sphere having a radius of about 15 Å, preferably about 20 Å, and more preferably about 25 Å.

The term “beta secretase-like binding pocket” refers to a portion of a molecule or molecular complex whose shape is sufficiently similar to at least a portion of a binding pocket of human beta secretase as to be expected to bind related structural analogues. As used herein, “at least a portion” means that at least about 50% of the amino acids are included, preferably at least about 70% of the amino acids are included, more preferably at least about 90% of the amino acids are included, and most preferably all the amino acids are included. A structurally equivalent binding pocket is defined by a root mean square deviation from the structure coordinates of the backbone atoms of the amino acids that make up binding pockets in human beta secretase (as set forth in Table 1) of less than about 0.45 Å, preferably at most about 0.35 Å, and more preferably at most about 0.2 Å. How this calculation is obtained is described below.

Accordingly, the invention provides molecules or molecular complexes including a human beta secretase binding pocket or beta secretase-like binding pocket, as defined by the sets of structure coordinates described above.

TABLE 3 Residues with 4 Å of binding site. GLY 11 GLY 13 LEU 30 ASP 32 GLY 34 SER 35 PRO 70 TYR 71 THR 72 GLN 73 PHE 108 ILE 110 TRP 115 ILE 126 TYR 198 ASP 228 GLY 230 THR 231 THR 232 ARG 235

TABLE 4 Residues with 7 Å of binding site. SER 10 GLY 11 GLN 12 GLY 13 TYR 14 LEU 30 VAL 31 ASP 32 THR 33 GLY 34 SER 35 SER 36 ASN 37 VAL 69 PRO 70 TYR 71 THR 72 GLN 73 GLY 74 LYS 75 TRP 76 ASP 106 LYS 107 PHE 108 PHE 109 ILE 110 TRP 115 ILE 118 ILE 126 ALA 127 ARG 128 TYR 198 LYS 224 ILE 226 ASP 228 SER 229 GLY 230 THR 231 THR 232 ASN 233 ARG 235 SER 325 THR 329 VAL 332 ALA 335

TABLE 5 Residues with 10 Å of binding site. ARG 7 GLY 8 LYS 9 SER 10 GLY 11 GLN 12 GLY 13 TYR 14 TYR 15 ILE 29 LEU 30 VAL 31 ASP 32 THR 33 GLY 34 SER 35 SER 36 ASN 37 ALA 39 TYR 68 VAL 69 PRO 70 TYR 71 THR 72 GLN 73 GLY 74 LYS 75 TRP 76 GLU 77 ILE 102 SER 105 ASP 106 LYS 107 PHE 108 PHE 109 ILE 110 ASN 111 SER 113 TRP 115 GLU 116 GLY 117 ILE 118 LEU 119 GLY 120 LEU 121 ALA 122 TYR 123 ALA 124 GLU 125 ILE 126 ALA 127 ARG 128 PRO 129 LEU 154 TRP 197 TYR 198 TYR 199 ASP 223 LYS 224 SER 225 ILE 226 VAL 227 ASP 228 SER 229 GLY 230 THR 231 THR 232 ASN 233 LEU 234 ARG 235 ARG 307 PHE 322 ALA 323 ILE 324 SER 325 GLN 326 SER 327 SER 328 THR 329 GLY 330 THR 331 VAL 332 MET 333 GLY 334 ALA 335 VAL 336 MET 338 GLU 339

Three-Dimensional Configurations

X-ray structure coordinates define a unique configuration of points in space. Those of skill in the art understand that a set of structure coordinates for protein or an protein/ligand complex, or a portion thereof, define a relative set of points that, in turn, define a configuration in three dimensions. A similar or identical configuration can be defined by an entirely different set of coordinates, provided the distances and angles between coordinates remain essentially the same. In addition, a scalable configuration of points can be defined by increasing or decreasing the distances between coordinates by a scalar factor while keeping the angles essentially the same.

The present invention thus includes the scalable three-dimensional configuration of points derived from the structure coordinates of at least a portion of a human beta secretase molecule or molecular complex, as listed in Table 1, as well as structurally equivalent configurations, as described below. Preferably, the scalable three-dimensional configuration includes points derived from structure coordinates representing the locations of a plurality of the amino acids defining a human beta secretase binding pocket.

In one embodiment, the scalable three-dimensional configuration includes points derived from structure coordinates representing the locations the backbone atoms of a plurality of amino acids defining the human beta secretase binding pocket, preferably the amino acids listed in Table 3, more preferably the amino acids listed in Table 4, and most preferably the amino acids listed in Table 5. Alternatively, the scalable three-dimensional configuration includes points derived from structure coordinates representing the locations of the side chain and the backbone atoms (other than hydrogens) of a plurality of the amino acids defining the human beta secretase binding pocket, preferably the amino acids listed in Table 3, more preferably the amino acids listed in Table 4, and most preferably the amino acids listed in Table 5.

Likewise, the invention also includes the scalable three-dimensional configuration of points derived from structure coordinates of molecules or molecular complexes that are structurally homologous to beta secretase, as well as structurally equivalent configurations. Structurally homologous molecules or molecular complexes are defined below. Advantageously, structurally homologous molecules can be identified using the structure coordinates of human beta secretase according to a method of the invention.

The configurations of points in space derived from structure coordinates according to the invention can be visualized as, for example, a holographic image, a stereodiagram, a model, or a computer-displayed image, and the invention thus includes such images, diagrams or models.

Structurally Equivalent Crystal Structures

Various computational analyses can be used to determine whether a molecule or a binding pocket portion thereof is “structurally equivalent,” defined in terms of its three-dimensional structure, to all or part of human beta secretase or its binding pockets. Such analyses may be carried out in current software applications, such as the Molecular Similarity application of QUANTA (Molecular Simulations Inc., San Diego, Calif.) version 4.1, and as described in the accompanying User's Guide.

The Molecular Similarity application permits comparisons between different structures, different conformations of the same structure, and different parts of the same structure. The procedure used in Molecular Similarity to compare structures is divided into four steps: (1) load the structures to be compared; (2) define the atom equivalences in these structures; (3) perform a fitting operation; and (4) analyze the results.

Each structure is identified by a name. One structure is identified as the target (i.e., the fixed structure); all remaining structures are working structures (i.e., moving structures). Since atom equivalency within QUANTA is defined by user input, for the purpose of this invention equivalent atoms are defined as protein backbone atoms (N, Ca, C, and O) for all conserved residues between the two structures being compared. A conserved residue is defined as a residue which is structurally or functionally equivalent. Only rigid fitting operations are considered.

When a rigid fitting method is used, the working structure is translated and rotated to obtain an optimum fit with the target structure. The fitting operation uses an algorithm that computes the optimum translation and rotation to be applied to the moving structure, such that the root mean square difference of the fit over the specified pairs of equivalent atom is an absolute minimum. This number, given in angstroms, is reported by QUANTA.

Machine Readable Storage Media

Transformation of the structure coordinates for all or a portion of human beta secretase or the human beta secretase/ligand complex or one of its binding pockets, for structurally homologous molecules as defined below, or for the structural equivalents of any of these molecules or molecular complexes as defined above, into three-dimensional graphical representations of the molecule or complex can be conveniently achieved through the use of commercially-available software.

The invention thus further provides a machine-readable storage medium including a data storage material encoded with machine readable data which, when using a machine programmed with instructions for using said data, displays a graphical three-dimensional representation of any of the molecule or molecular complexes of this invention that have been described above. In a preferred embodiment, the machine-readable data storage medium includes a data storage material encoded with machine readable data which, when using a machine programmed with instructions for using said data, displays a graphical three-dimensional representation of a molecule or molecular complex including all or any parts of a human beta secretase binding pocket or an beta secretase-like binding pocket, as defined above. In another preferred embodiment, the machine-readable data storage medium includes a data storage material encoded with machine readable data which, when using a machine programmed with instructions for using said data, displays a graphical three-dimensional representation of a molecule or molecular complex defined by the structure coordinates of all of the amino acids listed in Table 1, ±a root mean square deviation from the backbone atoms of said amino acids of less than about 0.45 Å.

In an alternative embodiment, the machine-readable data storage medium includes a data storage material encoded with a first set of machine readable data which includes the Fourier transform of the structure coordinates set forth in Table 1, and which, when using a machine programmed with instructions for using said data, can be combined with a second set of machine readable data including the x-ray diffraction pattern of a molecule or molecular complex to determine at least a portion of the structure coordinates corresponding to the second set of machine readable data.

For example, a system for reading a data storage medium may include a computer including a central processing unit (“CPU”), a working memory which may be, e.g., RAM (random access memory) or “core” memory, mass storage memory (such as one or more disk drives or CD-ROM drives), one or more display devices (e.g., cathode-ray tube (“CRT”) displays, light emitting diode (“LED”) displays, liquid crystal displays (“LCDs”), electroluminescent displays, vacuum fluorescent displays, field emission displays (“FEDs”), plasma displays, projection panels, etc.), one or more user input devices (e.g., keyboards, microphones, mice, track balls, touch pads, etc.), one or more input lines, and one or more output lines, all of which are interconnected by a conventional bidirectional system bus. The system may be a stand-alone computer, or may be networked (e.g., through local area networks, wide area networks, intranets, extranets, or the internet) to other systems (e.g., computers, hosts, servers, etc.). The system may also include additional computer controlled devices such as consumer electronics and appliances.

Input hardware may be coupled to the computer by input lines and may be implemented in a variety of ways. Machine-readable data of this invention may be inputted via the use of a modem or modems connected by a telephone line or dedicated data line. Alternatively or additionally, the input hardware may include CD-ROM drives or disk drives. In conjunction with a display terminal, a keyboard may also be used as an input device.

Output hardware may be coupled to the computer by output lines and may similarly be implemented by conventional devices. By way of example, the output hardware may include a display device for displaying a graphical representation of a binding pocket of this invention using a program such as QUANTA as described herein. Output hardware might also include a printer, so that hard copy output may be produced, or a disk drive, to store system output for later use.

In operation, a CPU coordinates the use of the various input and output devices, coordinates data accesses from mass storage devices, accesses to and from working memory, and determines the sequence of data processing steps. A number of programs may be used to process the machine-readable data of this invention. Such programs are discussed in reference to the computational methods of drug discovery as described herein. References to components of the hardware system are included as appropriate throughout the following description of the data storage medium.

Machine-readable storage devices useful in the present invention include, but are not limited to, magnetic devices, electrical devices, optical devices, and combinations thereof. Examples of such data storage devices include, but are not limited to, hard disk devices, CD devices, digital video disk devices, floppy disk devices, removable hard disk devices, magneto-optic disk devices, magnetic tape devices, flash memory devices, bubble memory devices, holographic storage devices, and any other mass storage peripheral device. It should be understood that these storage devices include necessary hardware (e.g., drives, controllers, power supplies, etc.) as well as any necessary media (e.g., disks, flash cards, etc.) to enable the storage of data.

Structurally Homologous Molecules, Molecular Complexes, and Crystal Structures

The structure coordinates set forth in Table 1 can be used to aid in obtaining structural information about another crystallized molecule or molecular complex. The method of the invention allows determination of at least a portion of the three-dimensional structure of molecules or molecular complexes which contain one or more structural features that are similar to structural features of human beta secretase. These molecules are referred to herein as “structurally homologous” to human beta secretase. Similar structural features can include, for example, regions of amino acid identity, conserved active site or binding site motifs, and similarly arranged secondary structural elements (e.g., α helices and β sheets). Optionally, structural homology is determined by aligning the residues of the two amino acid sequences to optimize the number of identical amino acids along the lengths of their sequences; gaps in either or both sequences are permitted in making the alignment in order to optimize the number of identical amino acids, although the amino acids in each sequence must nonetheless remain in their proper order. Preferably, two amino acid sequences are compared using the Blastp program, version 2.0.9, of the BLAST 2 search algorithm, as described by Tatusova et al., FEMS Microbiol Lett., 174:247-50 (1999), and available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gorf/bl2.html. Preferably, the default values for all BLAST 2 search parameters are used, including matrix=BLOSUM62; open gap penalty=11, extension gap penalty=1, gap x_dropoff=50, expect=10, wordsize=3, and filter on. In the comparison of two amino acid sequences using the BLAST search algorithm, structural similarity is referred to as “identity.” Preferably, a structurally homologous molecule is a protein that has an amino acid sequence sharing at least 65% identity with a native or recombinant amino acid sequence of human beta secretase (for example, SEQ ID NO:1). More preferably, a protein that is structurally homologous to human beta secretase includes a contiguous stretch of at least 50 amino acids that shares at least 80% amino acid sequence identity with the analogous portion of the native or recombinant human beta secretase (for example, SEQ ID NO:1). Methods for generating structural information about the structurally homologous molecule or molecular complex are well-known and include, for example, molecular replacement techniques.

Therefore, in another embodiment this invention provides a method of utilizing molecular replacement to obtain structural information about a molecule or molecular complex whose structure is unknown including the steps of:

(a) crystallizing the molecule or molecular complex of unknown structure;

(b) generating an x-ray diffraction pattern from said crystallized molecule or molecular complex; and

(c) applying at least a portion of the structure coordinates set forth in Table 1 to the x-ray diffraction pattern to generate a three-dimensional electron density map of the molecule or molecular complex whose structure is unknown.

By using molecular replacement, all or part of the structure coordinates of human beta secretase or the human beta secretase/ligand complex as provided by this invention can be used to determine the structure of a crystallized molecule or molecular complex whose structure is unknown more quickly and efficiently than attempting to determine such information ab initio.

Molecular replacement provides an accurate estimation of the phases for an unknown structure. Phases are a factor in equations used to solve crystal structures that cannot be determined directly. Obtaining accurate values for the phases, by methods other than molecular replacement, is a time-consuming process that involves iterative cycles of approximations and refinements and greatly hinders the solution of crystal structures. However, when the crystal structure of a protein containing at least a structurally homologous portion has been solved, the phases from the known structure provide a satisfactory estimate of the phases for the unknown structure.

Thus, this method involves generating a preliminary model of a molecule or molecular complex whose structure coordinates are unknown, by orienting and positioning the relevant portion of human beta secretase or the human beta secretase/modifier complex within the unit cell of the crystal of the unknown molecule or molecular complex so as best to account for the observed x-ray diffraction pattern of the crystal of the molecule or molecular complex whose structure is unknown. Phases can then be calculated from this model and combined with the observed x-ray diffraction pattern amplitudes to generate an electron density map of the structure whose coordinates are unknown. This, in turn, can be subjected to any well-known model building and structure refinement techniques to provide a final, accurate structure of the unknown crystallized molecule or molecular complex (Lattman, Meth. Enzymol., 115, 55-77 (1985); M. G. Rossman, ed., “The Molecular Replacement Method,” Int. Sci. Rev. Ser., No. 13, Gordon & Breach, N.Y. (1972)).

Structural information about a portion of any crystallized molecule or molecular complex that is sufficiently structurally homologous to a portion of human beta secretase can be resolved by this method. In addition to a molecule that shares one or more structural features with human beta secretase as described above, a molecule that has similar bioactivity, such as the same catalytic activity, substrate specificity or ligand binding activity as human beta secretase, may also be sufficiently structurally homologous to human beta secretase to permit use of the structure coordinates of human beta secretase to solve its crystal structure.

In a preferred embodiment, the method of molecular replacement is utilized to obtain structural information about a molecule or molecular complex, wherein the molecule or molecular complex includes a human beta secretase subunit or homolog. A “subunit” of human beta secretase is a human beta secretase molecule that has been truncated at the N-terminus or the C-terminus, or both. In the context of the present invention, a “homolog” of human beta secretase is a protein that contains one or more amino acid substitutions, deletions, additions, or rearrangements with respect to the amino acid sequence of human beta secretase (SEQ ID NO:1), but that, when folded into its native conformation, exhibits or is reasonably expected to exhibit at least a portion of the tertiary (three-dimensional) structure of human beta secretase. For example, structurally homologous molecules can contain deletions or additions of one or more contiguous or noncontiguous amino acids, such as a loop or a domain. Structurally homologous molecules also include “modified” human beta secretase molecules that have been chemically or enzymatically derivatized at one or more constituent amino acid, including side chain modifications, backbone modifications, and N- and C-terminal modifications including acetylation, hydroxylation, methylation, amidation, and the attachment of carbohydrate or lipid moieties, cofactors, and the like.

A heavy atom derivative of human beta secretase is also included as a human beta secretase homolog. The term “heavy atom derivative” refers to derivatives of human beta secretase produced by chemically modifying a crystal of human beta secretase. In practice, a crystal is soaked in a solution containing heavy metal atom salts, or organometallic compounds, e.g., lead chloride, gold thiomalate, thiomersal or uranyl acetate, which can diffuse through the crystal and bind to the surface of the protein. The location(s) of the bound heavy metal atom(s) can be determined by x-ray diffraction analysis of the soaked crystal. This information, in turn, is used to generate the phase information used to construct three-dimensional structure of the protein (T. L. Blundell and N. L. Johnson, Protein Crystallography, Academic Press (1976)).

Because human beta secretase can crystallize in more than one crystal form, the structure coordinates of human beta secretase as provided by this invention are particularly useful in solving the structure of other crystal forms of human beta secretase or human beta secretase complexes.

The structure coordinates of human beta secretase as provided by this invention are particularly useful in solving the structure of human beta secretase mutants. Mutants may be prepared, for example, by expression of human beta secretase cDNA previously altered in its coding sequence by oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis. Mutants may also be generated by site-specific incorporation of unnatural amino acids into beta secretase proteins using the general biosynthetic method of Noren et al., Science, 244:182-88 (1989). In this method, the codon encoding the amino acid of interest in wild-type human beta secretase is replaced by a “blank” nonsense codon, TAG, using oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis. A suppressor tRNA directed against this codon is then chemically aminoacylated in vitro with the desired unnatural amino acid. The aminoacylated tRNA is then added to an in vitro translation system to yield a mutant human beta secretase with the site-specific incorporated unnatural amino acid.

Selenocysteine or selenomethionine may be incorporated into wild-type or mutant human beta secretase by expression of human beta secretase-encoding cDNAs in auxotrophic E. coli strains (Hendrickson et al., EMBO J., 9:1665-72 (1990)). In this method, the wild-type or mutagenized human beta secretase cDNA may be expressed in a host organism on a growth medium depleted of either natural cysteine or methionine (or both) but enriched in selenocysteine or selenomethionine (or both). Alternatively, selenomethionine analogues may be prepared by down regulation methionine biosynthesis. (Benson et al., Nat. Struct. Biol., 2:644-53 (1995); Van Duyne et al., J. Mol. Biol., 229:105-24 (1993)).

The structure coordinates of human beta secretase listed in Table 1 are also particularly useful to solve the structure of crystals of human beta secretase, human beta secretase mutants or human beta secretase homologs co-complexed with a variety of chemical entities. This approach enables the determination of the optimal sites for interaction between chemical entities, including candidate human beta secretase modifiers and human beta secretase. Potential sites for modification within the various binding sites of the molecule can also be identified. This information provides an additional tool for determining the most efficient binding interactions, for example, increased hydrophobic interactions, between human beta secretase and a chemical entity. For example, high resolution x-ray diffraction data collected from crystals exposed to different types of solvent allows the determination of where each type of solvent molecule resides. Small molecules that bind tightly to those sites can then be designed and synthesized and tested for their potential human beta secretase inhibition activity.

All of the complexes referred to above may be studied using well-known x-ray diffraction techniques and may be refined versus 1.5-3.5 Å resolution x-ray data to an R value of about 0.30 or less using computer software, such as X-PLOR (Yale University, 81992, distributed by Molecular Simulations, Inc.; see, e.g., Blundell & Johnson, supra; Meth. Enzymol., Vol. 114 & 115, H. W. Wyckoff et al., eds., Academic Press (1985)). This information may thus be used to optimize known human beta secretase modifiers, and more importantly, to design new human beta secretase modifiers.

The invention also includes the unique three-dimensional configuration defined by a set of points defined by the structure coordinates for a molecule or molecular complex structurally homologous to human beta secretase as determined using the method of the present invention, structurally equivalent configurations, and magnetic storage media including such set of structure coordinates.

Further, the invention includes structurally homologous molecules as identified using the method of the invention.

Homology Modeling

Using homology modeling, a computer model of a human beta secretase homolog can be built or refined without crystallizing the homolog. First, a preliminary model of the human beta secretase homolog is created by sequence alignment with human beta secretase, secondary structure prediction, the screening of structural libraries, or any combination of those techniques. Computational software may be used to carry out the sequence alignments and the secondary structure predictions. Structural incoherences, e.g., structural fragments around insertions and deletions, can be modeled by screening a structural library for peptides of the desired length and with a suitable conformation. For prediction of the side chain conformation, a side chain rotamer library may be employed. If the human beta secretase homolog has been crystallized, the final homology model can be used to solve the crystal structure of the homolog by molecular replacement, as described above. Next, the preliminary model is subjected to energy minimization to yield an energy minimized model. The energy minimized model may contain regions where stereochemistry restraints are violated, in which case such regions are remodeled to obtain a final homology model. The homology model is positioned according to the results of molecular replacement, and subjected to further refinement including molecular dynamics calculations.

Rational Drug Design

Computational techniques can be used to screen, identify, select and/or design chemical entities capable of associating with human beta secretase or structurally homologous molecules. Knowledge of the structure coordinates for human beta secretase permits the design and/or identification of synthetic compounds and/or other molecules which have a shape complementary to the conformation of the human beta secretase binding site. In particular, computational techniques can be used to identify or design chemical entities, such as modifiers, agonists and antagonists, that associate with a human beta secretase binding pocket or an beta secretase-like binding pocket. Potential modifiers may bind to or interfere with all or a portion of an active site of human beta secretase, and can be competitive, non-competitive, or uncompetitive inhibitors; or interfere with dimerization by binding at the interface between the two monomers. Once identified and screened for biological activity, these inhibitors/agonists/antagonists may be used therapeutically or prophylactically to block human beta secretase activity and, thus, prevent the onset and/or further progression of Alzheimer's disease. Structure-activity data for analogues of ligands that bind to or interfere with human beta secretase or beta secretase-like binding pockets can also be obtained computationally.

The term “chemical entity,” as used herein, refers to chemical compounds, complexes of two or more chemical compounds, and fragments of such compounds or complexes. Chemical entities that are determined to associate with human beta secretase are potential drug candidates. Data stored in a machine-readable storage medium that displays a graphical three-dimensional representation of the structure of human beta secretase or a structurally homologous molecule, as identified herein, or portions thereof may thus be advantageously used for drug discovery. The structure coordinates of the chemical entity are used to generate a three-dimensional image that can be computationally fit to the three-dimensional image of human beta secretase or a structurally homologous molecule. The three-dimensional molecular structure encoded by the data in the data storage medium can then be computationally evaluated for its ability to associate with chemical entities. When the molecular structures encoded by the data is displayed in a graphical three-dimensional representation on a computer screen, the protein structure can also be visually inspected for potential association with chemical entities.

One embodiment of the method of drug design involves evaluating the potential association of a known chemical entity with human beta secretase or a structurally homologous molecule, particularly with a human beta secretase binding pocket or beta secretase-like binding pocket. The method of drug design thus includes computationally evaluating the potential of a selected chemical entity to associate with any of the molecules or molecular complexes set forth above. This method includes the steps of: (a) employing computational means to perform a fitting operation between the selected chemical entity and a binding pocket or a pocket nearby the binding pocket of the molecule or molecular complex; and (b) analyzing the results of said fitting operation to quantify the association between the chemical entity and the binding pocket.

In another embodiment, the method of drug design involves computer-assisted design of chemical entities that associate with human beta secretase, its homologs, or portions thereof. Chemical entities can be designed in a step-wise fashion, one fragment at a time, or may be designed as a whole or “de novo.”

To be a viable drug candidate, the chemical entity identified or designed according to the method must be capable of structurally associating with at least part of a human beta secretase or beta secretase-like binding pockets, and must be able, sterically and energetically, to assume a conformation that allows it to associate with the human beta secretase or beta secretase-like binding pocket. Non-covalent molecular interactions important in this association include hydrogen bonding, van der Waals interactions, hydrophobic interactions, and electrostatic interactions. Conformational considerations include the overall three-dimensional structure and orientation of the chemical entity in relation to the binding pocket, and the spacing between various functional groups of an entity that directly interact with the beta secretase-like binding pocket or homologs thereof.

Optionally, the potential binding of a chemical entity to a human beta secretase or beta secretase-like binding pocket is analyzed using computer modeling techniques prior to the actual synthesis and testing of the chemical entity. If these computational experiments suggest insufficient interaction and association between it and the human beta secretase or beta secretase-like binding pocket, testing of the entity is obviated. However, if computer modeling indicates a strong interaction, the molecule may then be synthesized and tested for its ability to bind to or interfere with a human beta secretase or beta secretase-like binding pocket. Binding assays to determine if a compound (e.g., an inhibitor) actually interferes with human beta secretase can also be performed and are well known in the art. Binding assays may employ kinetic or thermodynamic methodology using a wide variety of techniques including, but not limited to, microcalorimetry, circular dichroism, capillary zone electrophoresis, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and combinations thereof.

One method for determining whether a modifier binds to a protein is isothermal denaturation. This method includes taking a sample of a protein (in the presence or absence of substrates) at a fixed elevated temperature where denaturation of the protein occurs in a given time frame, adding the chemical entity to the protein, and monitoring the rate of denaturation. If the chemical entity does bind to the protein, it is expected that the rate of denaturation would be slower in the presence of the chemical entity than in the absence of the chemical entity. For example, this method has been described in Epps et al., Anal. Biochem., 292:40-50 (2001).

One skilled in the art may use one of several methods to screen chemical entities or fragments for their ability to associate with a human beta secretase or beta secretase-like binding pocket. This process may begin by visual inspection of, for example, a human beta secretase or beta secretase-like binding pocket on the computer screen based on the human beta secretase structure coordinates listed in Table 1 or other coordinates which define a similar shape generated from the machine-readable storage medium. Selected fragments or chemical entities may then be positioned in a variety of orientations, or docked, within the binding pocket. Docking may be accomplished using software such as QUANTA and SYBYL, followed by energy minimization and molecular dynamics with standard molecular mechanics forcefields, such as CHARMM and AMBER.

Specialized computer programs may also assist in the process of selecting fragments or chemical entities. Examples include GRID (Goodford, J. Med. Chem., 28:849-57 (1985); available from Oxford University, Oxford, UK); MCSS (Miranker et al., Proteins: Struct. Funct. Gen., 11:29-34 (1991); available from Molecular Simulations, San Diego, Calif.); AUTODOCK (Goodsell et al., Proteins: Struct. Funct. Genet., 8:195-202 (1990); available from Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, Calif.); and DOCK (Kuntz et al., J. Mol. Biol., 161:269-88 (1982); available from University of California, San Francisco, Calif.).

Once suitable chemical entities or fragments have been selected, they can be assembled into a single compound or complex. Assembly may be preceded by visual inspection of the relationship of the fragments to each other on the three-dimensional image displayed on a computer screen in relation to the structure coordinates of human beta secretase. This would be followed by manual model building using software such as QUANTA or SYBYL (Tripos Associates, St. Louis, Mo.).

Useful programs to aid one of skill in the art in connecting the individual chemical entities or fragments include, without limitation, CAVEAT (P. A. Bartlett et al., in “Molecular Recognition in Chemical and Biological Problems,” Special Publ., Royal Chem. Soc., 78:182-96 (1989); Lauri et al., J. Comput. Aided Mol. Des., 8:51-66 (1994); available from the University of California, Berkeley, Calif.); 3D database systems such as ISIS (available from MDL Information Systems, San Leandro, Calif.; reviewed in Martin, J. Med. Chem., 35:2145-54 (1992)); and HOOK (Eisen et al., Proteins: Struc., Funct., Genet., 19:199-221 (1994); available from Molecular Simulations, San Diego, Calif.).

Human beta secretase binding compounds may be designed “de novo” using either an empty binding site or optionally including some portion(s) of a known modifier(s). There are many de novo ligand design methods including, without limitation, LUDI (Bohm, J. Comp. Aid. Molec. Design., 6:61-78 (1992); available from Molecular Simulations Inc., San Diego, Calif.); LEGEND (Nishibata et al., Tetrahedron, 47:8985 (1991); available from Molecular Simulations Inc., San Diego, Calif.); LeapFrog (available from Tripos Associates, St. Louis, Mo.); and SPROUT (Gillet et al., J. Comput. Aided Mol. Design, 7:127-53 (1993); available from the University of Leeds, UK).

Once a compound has been designed or selected by the above methods, the efficiency with which that entity may bind to or interfere with a human beta secretase or beta secretase-like binding pocket may be tested and optimized by computational evaluation. For example, an effective human beta secretase or beta secretase-like binding pocket modifier must preferably demonstrate a relatively small difference in energy between its bound and free states (i.e., a small deformation energy of binding). Thus, the most efficient human beta secretase or beta secretase-like binding pocket modifiers should preferably be designed with a deformation energy of binding of at most about 10 kcal/mole; more preferably, at most 7 kcal/mole. Human beta secretase or beta secretase-like binding pocket modifiers may interact with the binding pocket in more than one conformation that is similar in overall binding energy. In those cases, the deformation energy of binding is taken to be the difference between the energy of the free entity and the average energy of the conformations observed when the modifier binds to the protein.

An entity designed or selected as binding to or interfering with a human beta secretase or beta secretase-like binding pocket may be further computationally optimized so that in its bound state it would preferably lack repulsive electrostatic interaction with the target enzyme and with the surrounding water molecules. Such non-complementary electrostatic interactions include repulsive charge-charge, dipole-dipole, and charge-dipole interactions.

Specific computer software is available in the art to evaluate compound deformation energy and electrostatic interactions. Examples of programs designed for such uses include: Gaussian 94, revision C (M. J. Frisch, Gaussian, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa. 81995); AMBER, version 4.1 (P. A. Kollman, University of California at San Francisco, 81995); QUANTA/CHARMM (Molecular Simulations, Inc., San Diego, Calif. 81995); Insight II/Discover (Molecular Simulations, Inc., San Diego, Calif. 81995); DelPhi (Molecular Simulations, Inc., San Diego, Calif. 81995); and AMSOL (Quantum Chemistry Program Exchange, Indiana University). These programs may be implemented, for instance, using a Silicon Graphics workstation such as an Indigo² with “IMPACT” graphics. Other hardware systems and software packages will be known to those skilled in the art.

Another approach encompassed by this invention is the computational screening of small molecule databases for chemical entities or compounds that can bind in whole, or in part, to a human beta secretase or beta secretase-like binding pocket. In this screening, the quality of fit of such entities to the binding site may be judged either by shape complementarity or by estimated interaction energy (Meng et al., J. Comp. Chem., 13:505-24 (1992)).

This invention also enables the development of chemical entities that can isomerize to short-lived reaction intermediates in the chemical reaction of a substrate or other compound that interferes with or with human beta secretase. Time-dependent analysis of structural changes in human beta secretase during its interaction with other molecules is carried out. The reaction intermediates of human beta secretase can also be deduced from the reaction product in co-complex with human beta secretase. Such information is useful to design improved analogues of known human beta secretase modifiers or to design novel classes of potential modifiers based on the reaction intermediates of the human beta secretase and modifier co-complex. This provides a novel route for designing human beta secretase modifiers with both high specificity and stability.

Yet another approach to rational drug design involves probing the human beta secretase crystal of the invention with molecules including a variety of different functional groups to determine optimal sites for interaction between candidate human beta secretase modifiers and the protein. For example, high resolution x-ray diffraction data collected from crystals soaked in or co-crystallized with other molecules allows the determination of where each type of solvent molecule sticks. Molecules that bind tightly to those sites can then be further modified and synthesized and tested for their beta secretase modifier activity (Travis, Science, 262:1374 (1993)).

In a related approach, iterative drug design is used to identify modifiers of human beta secretase. Iterative drug design is a method for optimizing associations between a protein and a compound by determining and evaluating the three-dimensional structures of successive sets of protein/compound complexes. In iterative drug design, crystals of a series of protein/compound complexes are obtained and then the three-dimensional structures of each complex is solved. Such an approach provides insight into the association between the proteins and compounds of each complex. This is accomplished by selecting compounds with inhibitory activity, obtaining crystals of this new protein/compound complex, solving the three-dimensional structure of the complex, and comparing the associations between the new protein/compound complex and previously solved protein/compound complexes. By observing how changes in the compound affected the protein/compound associations, these associations may be optimized.

A compound that is identified or designed as a result of any of these methods can be obtained (or synthesized) and tested for its biological activity, e.g., inhibition of beta secretase activity.

Pharmaceutical Compositions (Modifiers)

Pharmaceutical compositions of this invention include a potential modifier of human beta secretase activity identified according to the invention, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, adjuvant, or vehicle. The term “pharmaceutically acceptable carrier” refers to a carrier(s) that is “acceptable” in the sense of being compatible with the other ingredients of a composition and not deleterious to the recipient thereof. Optionally, the pH of the formulation is adjusted with pharmaceutically acceptable acids, bases, or buffers to enhance the stability of the formulated compound or its delivery form.

Methods of making and using such pharmaceutical compositions are also included in the invention. The pharmaceutical compositions of the invention can be administered orally, parenterally, by inhalation spray, topically, rectally, nasally, buccally, vaginally, or via an implanted reservoir. Oral administration or administration by injection is preferred. The term parenteral as used herein includes subcutaneous, intracutaneous, intravenous, intramuscular, intra-articular, intrasynovial, intrasternal, intrathecal, intralesional, and intracranial injection or infusion techniques.

Dosage levels of about 0.01 to about 100 mg/kg body weight per day, preferably of about 0.5 to about 75 mg/kg body weight per day of the human beta secretase inhibitory compounds described herein are useful for the prevention and treatment of human beta secretase mediated disease. Typically, the pharmaceutical compositions of this invention will be administered about 1 to about 5 times per day or alternatively, as a continuous infusion. Such administration can be used as a chronic or acute therapy. The amount of active ingredient that may be combined with the carrier materials to produce a single dosage form will vary depending upon the host treated and the particular mode of administration. A typical preparation will contain about 5% to about 95% active compound (w/w). Preferably, such preparations contain about 20% to about 80% active compound.

In order that this invention be more fully understood, the following examples are set forth. These examples are for the purpose of illustration only and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any way.

EXAMPLES Example 1 Crystallization and Structure Determination of Human Beta Secretase in P4₃2₁2 Crystal Form

Expression, Purification, and Crystallization

Production of Recombinant Human β-Secretase in CHO-K1 Cells. The coding sequence was engineered to delete the terminal transmembrane and cytoplasmic domain and introduce a C-terminal hexahistidine tag using the polymerase chain reaction. The 5′ sense oligonucleotide primer [CGCTTTGGATCCGTGGACMCCTGAGGGGCAA] (SEQ ID NO:4) was designed to incorporate a BamHI site for ease in subcloning and Kozak consensus sequence around the initiator methionine for optimal translation initiation. The 3′ antisense primer [CGCTTTGGTACCCTATGACTCATCTGTCTGTGGAATGTTG] (SEQ ID NO:5) incorporated a hexahistidine tag and translation termination codon just upstream of the predicted transmembrane domain (Ser⁴³²) and a NotI restriction site for cloning. The PCR was performed on the plasmid template pcDNA3.1hygroAsp2R for 15 cycles [94° C., 30 sec., 65° C., 30 sec., 72° C., 30 sec] using Pwo I polymerase (Roche Biochemicals, Indianapolis, Ind.) as outlined by the manufacturer. The PCR product was digested to completion with BamHI and NotI and ligated into the BamHI and NotI sites of the Baculovirus transfer vector pVL1393 (PharMingen, San Diego, Calif.). A portion of the ligation was used to transform competent E. coli DH5α cells and recombinant clones were selected on ampicillin. Individual clones containing the proper cDNA inserts were identified by PCR. Plasmid DNA from clone (pVL1393/Hu_Asp-2LΔTM(H is)₆) was prepared by alkaline lysis and banding in CsCl. The integrity of the insert was confirmed by complete DNA sequencing. For CHO-K1 cell expression, plasmid pVL1393/Hu_Asp-2LΔTM(His)₆ was digested with BamHI and Notl and the resulting fragment subcloned into the mammalian expression vector pcDNA3.1(hygro) as described above to yield pcDNA3.1(hygro)/Hu_Asp-2LΔTM(H is)₆).

For expression, CHO-K1 cells (50% confluent) were transfected with cationic liposome/pcDNA3.1 (hygro)/Hu_Asp-2LΔTM(H is)₆ complexes in α-MEM medium containing 10% FBS overnight. Selection was performed in the same medium containing 0.5 mg/L hygromycin B for seven days and surviving cells were cloned by limiting dilution. Eight cell lines were screened for soluble β-secretase by Western blot analysis using a polyclonal rabbit antiserum specific for human β-secretase (UP-191). Conditioned medium from each clonal cell line was concentrated by Ni⁺-NTA (resin available under the trade designation FAST FLOW from Qiagen, Valencia, Calif.) chromatography and the histidine-tagged polypeptide eluted with buffer containing 50 mM imidazole. Aliquots of the latter fraction were displayed on a PVDF membrane and recombinant soluble human β-secretase was visualized using UP-191 antiserum and alkaline phosphatase conjugated goat antirabbit second antibody. Based on these results, clone #4 showed the highest expression level and was used for all subsequent experiments.

Purification of Recombinant Human β-Secretase from CHO-K1 Cells. For purification, the medium was concentrated approximately 10-fold using a tangential flow concentrator equip with a 30,000 molecular weight cutoff cartridge. Solid ammonium sulfate was then slowly added with stirring to the concentrate at 4° C. to a final value of 40% saturation (242 g/L). After stirring at 4° C. for 30 minutes, the suspension was clarified by centrifugation (16,000×g, 60 minutes) and the supernatant taken for further analysis. The 40% ammonium sulfate supernatant was adjusted to 80% saturation by slow addition of solid ammonium sulfate with stirring at 4° C. (281 g/L). After stirring for 30 minutes at 4° C., the insoluble material was collected by centrifugation as indicated above and the 40-80% ammonium sulfate pellet taken for further analysis.

The 40-80% ammonium sulfate pellet was dissolved in 25 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.5)/0.5 M NaCl/10 mM imidazole ( 1/10 the original volume) and applied to a 12.5 ml column containing Ni⁺-NTA resin (available under the trade designation FAST FLOW from Qiagen, Valencia, Calif.) previously equilibrated in the same buffer. Following sample application, the column was washed with 10 column volumes of loading buffer and then eluted with 25 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.5)/0.5 M NaCl/50 mM imidazole. The material eluting in 50 mM imidazole was pooled, concentrated approximately 10-fold using a YM 30 membrane (30,000 MWCO), and then dialyzed against 10 mM HEPES-Na (pH 8.0) using 50,000 molecular weight cutoff tubing. For affinity purification, the synthetic peptide Ser-Glu-Val-Asn-Sta-Val-Ala-Glu-Phe-Arg-Gly-Gly-Cys (where Sta=statine) was synthesized and coupled to sulfolink resin (Pierce Chemical Company, Rockford, II) as recommended by the manufacture. The dialyzed material from above was adjusted to 0.1 M NaOAc (pH 4.5) by addition of 1/10 volume of 1.0 M NaOAc (pH 4.5) and immediately applied to the synthetic peptide shown in FIG. 2/sulfolink column (6 ml containing 1.0 mg of the synthetic peptide shown in FIG. 2/ml of resin) that had been previously equilibrated in 25 mM NaOAc (pH 4.5). Following sample application, the column was washed with 10 column volumes of 25 mM NaOAc (pH 4.5) and then eluted with 50 mM sodium borate (pH 8.5). N-terminal sequence analysis of the affinity purified material revealed an equimolar mixture of pro- and processed human β-secretase beginning at Thr¹ and Glu²⁵, respectively. The final protein concentration was determined by amino acid analysis assuming a 52 kDa glycoprotein for insect cells and a 60 kDa glycoprotein for CHO cells, respectively.

Cleavage of Beta Secretase by HIV Protease. HIV-1 protease is able to cleave beta secretase at F³⁹-V⁴⁰ bond as shown in FIG. 7. It was reasoned that a homogeneous preparation of beta secretase with V⁴⁰ as an N-terminus could be made if conditions could be found to bring the cleavage to completion. The optimal conditions for cleavage were determined by examining the N-terminal sequence of beta secretase after incubation with HIV-1 protease in various conditions. These included a pH range of 4-7, urea concentrations of 0.5-3.0 M, and time increments of 15 minutes, up to 2 hours incubation at 37° C. It was found that at pH 5.7, 0.5 M urea, with 5% HIV protease and 1 hour incubation at 37° C., nearly 100% cleavage of the F³⁹-V⁴⁰ bond occurred. The processed enzyme was separated from the other components of the reaction mixture by using an affinity column based on the synthetic peptide shown in FIG. 2 and dialysis. Beta secretase produced by the technique described above is about 10-20% more active than unprocessed beta secretase.

In a typical experiment, 25 mg (3.85×10⁻⁷ moles) of CHO cell derived beta secretase in 4.65 ml (at 5.38 mg/ml per amino acid analysis) was treated with a 10% molar equivalent of the HIV-1 protease dimer (3.85×10⁻⁸ moles, 7.69×10⁻⁴ g) in the presence of 0.5 M urea and 0.2 M MES (pH 5.7). Before adding the HIV-1 protease, the beta secretase was prepared in the following manner: 1) 4.65 ml of beta secretase was added to 1.163 ml of 1M MES (pH 5.7) with no precipitate being observed; 2) 0.55 ml of 6 M urea was added to the mixture in step 1 while stirring with some precipitate being observed; 3) 0.222 ml of HIV-1 protease (×3.47 mg/ml=7.70×10⁻⁴ g). The mixture was then incubated for 2 hours at 37° C.

Further purification after HIV protease treatment. Afterwards, the mixture was dialyzed overnight versus 0.5 M urea and 0.2 M MES (pH 5.7) at 4° C. using a membrane available under the trade designation Spectra/Por 6 Membrane, MWCO: 50,000 (Part No. 132-544) from Spectrum Laboratories (Rancho Dominguez, Calif.). The next morning, the sample was changed into a solution containing 10 mM MES (pH 5.7) and 50 mM NaCl (no urea) at 4° C., and allowed to continue dialyzing for an additional 8 hours. At this point, the solution was spun to remove the precipitate, and the supernatant analyzed by absorbance at 280 nm. It was estimated, using a conversion factor of 0.685 mg/mg·AU, that approximately 20.4 mg of material was present to carry forward to the next, and final stage of purification. 20.4 mg of beta secretase in 9.3 ml (containing 10 mM MES (pH 5.7) and 50 mM NaCl (no urea) at 4° C.) from the preceding steps were added to 2.325 ml of 1 M sodium acetate (pH 4.5). It was then applied to a 2 ml affinity column that had been pre-equilibrated with 0.2 M sodium acetate (pH 4.5). The affinity column was made by coupling the synthetic peptide shown in FIG. 2 (1 mg/ml of resin) to 2 ml of a resin available under the trade designation Sulfo-Link from Pierce Chemical Co. (Rockford, II). The flow through material was recirculated 2× before washing the column with 20 mM sodium acetate (pH 4.5) and 150 mM NaCl. The beta secretase was eluted into 6 ml of 0.1 M sodium borate (pH 8.5). Absorbance at 280 nm indicated a total of 13.6 mg of beta secretase. The affinity column was re-equilibrated, and the process repeated using the flow through. Another 6 ml containing a total of 5.1 mg was recovered (according to absorbance at 280 nm). Thus, a combined total of 18.7 mg was realized after treatment of the CHO cell derived beta secretase with HIV-1 protease, and subsequent purification.

Purified HIV-1 protease treated (and non-treated) beta secretase were assayed for activity by HPLC analysis of the products. Purified HIV-1 protease treated beta secretase showed 10-20% more enzymatic activity than non-treated beta secretase.

Crystallization. The crystallization conditions for HIV protease treated CHO produced beta secretase were found by trying to reproduce untreated CHO cell beta secretase crystallization conditions. The untreated form of the protein contains a 50:50 mixture of pro and processed forms. A tray was set up to attempt to reproduce the crystallization conditions along with test crystallization conditions that were cryogenic. The tray had a row that was 20-25% PEG 2000 MME, 100 mM sodium acetate (pH 4.5), a 0.75 microliter+0.75 microliter reservoir+protein drop, with a 500 microliter reservoir volume in a crystallization plate and an incubation temperature of 20° C. The other three rows were the same as the first with the addition of 10% DMSO for the second row, 10% ethylene glycol for the third row, and 10% glycerol for the fourth row. The tray was streak seeded by using a cat whisker and a seed stock from untreated CHO crystals. Within a week crystals were observed in the second, third, and fourth rows. After three weeks, small crystals were observed in the first row. Later experiments demonstrated that seeding was not necessary. The crystals observed without seeding were of the same form as crystals formed from seeding. Crystals obtained from seeding experiments were of a different crystal form than the original untreated CHO crystals used for seeds.

Detailed Crystallization Method. The protein was obtained in 20 mM HEPES (pH 8.0) and 50 mM NaCl at approximately 1 mg/ml for crystallization studies. During concentration to approximately 25 mg/ml the protein was exchanged into 20 mM HEPES (NaOH, pH 7.75) and the NaCl concentration was diluted to less than 1 mM.

Crystals were grown from the following conditions: protein+compound preparation-20 mg/ml protein, 2 mM of the inhibitor shown in FIG. 1 (dissolved in 100% DMSO), 10% DMSO (including DMSO from compound); well solution: 17-28% PEG 2000 MME or PEG 5000 MME, 50-200 mM sodium acetate (pH 4.5), 0-20% glycerol or 10% ethylene glycol or 10% DMSO or 10% MPD.

Crystallization method: 500 microliters reservoir volume in a hanging drop or sitting drop vapor diffusion tray (plates available under the trade designation VDX plate and Cryschem plate from Hampton Research, Laguna Niguel, Calif.). The protein and reservoir solutions were added together in a 1:1 ratio on the coverslip or sitting drop post. Drop size of 0.75 microliter+0.75 microliter was preferred, although 0.75-1.5 microliters well+1.5-2 microliters protein was also sufficient to produce crystals. The trays were then stored in a 20° C. incubator for the nucleation and growth phases. Crystals appeared in 7-10 days (with the inhibitor shown in FIG. 1) with final size of 0.3 mm×0.3 mm occurring by day 21.

Cryo conditions: With optimal crystallization conditions, the drop was cryogenic (did not form crystalline ice). Reservoir: 20% PEG 2000 MME, 100 mM sodium acetate (pH 4.5), and 10% glycerol. Protein preparation: 20 mg/ml protein, 2 mM of the inhibitor shown in FIG. 1, and 10% DMSO. Crystals that were frozen directly from the crystallization drop did not diffract as well as a crystal mounted in a capillary tube. The diffraction limit of the frozen crystal was 6 Å while a crystal of similar size (0.2 mm×0.2 mm) diffracted to better than 4 Å when mounted in a capillary tube. Optimization of cryo conditions included adding supplemental amounts of a cryo agent to the crystallization drop. The preferred cryo agent was ethylene glycol, however glycerol or DMSO also provided cryoprotection. The method for adding supplemental cryo agent to the drop was as follows: 1 microliter 100% cryo agent was added to 3 microliters of reservoir solution to give a 25% cryo stock; the mixture was allowed to set for 1 minute before 0.5 microliter of the mix was added to a 0.75 microliter+0.75 microliter crystallization drop; after waiting an additional 3 minutes, another 1 microliter of the mixture was added. The second addition of the cryo mix brought the cryo concentration to 12.5%. Cryopreservation was completed by looping out the crystal after about 3 minutes to 2 hours and freezing the crystal by plunging the loop into liquid nitrogen.

X-ray Diffraction Characterization

All data collection was carried out at the Advanced Photon Source (Argonne, Ill.) at beamline 17-ID. The crystals diffracted to 2.9 Å using synchrotron radiation. Crystals were of the space group P4₃2₁2 with cell constants a=114.0±20 Å, b=114±20 Å, c=190±20 Å, and α=β=γ=90°. The Matthews coefficient for these crystals assuming that there are two molecules in the asymmetric unit is 2.4 Å/Da with 48% solvent. The structure determination (see below) revealed the presence of electron density in the active site appropriate for the inhibitor shown in FIG. 1.

Molecular Replacement

A molecular replacement solution was determined using AMORE (Navaza, Acta Cryst., D50:157-63 (1994); Collaborative Computational Project N4, Acta Cryst. D50:760-63 (1994)) by utilizing a previously solved structure of human beta secretase from CHO crystals. The initial rotation solution gave a single strong peak of 7.8σ with the next strongest peak appearing at 6.8σ and the third strongest peak appearing at 4.0σ. The presence of two strong peaks suggested that two molecules might be present in the asymmetric unit. The final determination of the space group (P4₁2₁2 or P4₃2₁2) was determined experimentally by testing translation searches in each space group. A translation search in the correct space group, P4₃2₁2, resulted in a correlation coefficient of 41.7 with an R-factor of 46.3% to 4 Å resolution for the first molecule. A translation search for the second molecule resulted in an improved correlation coefficient of 60.9 with an R-factor of 38.0 to 4 Å resolution for both molecules.

TABLE 6 Data collection statistics for structure of Human Beta Secretase (data collected at λ 1.0000 Å at APS, 17-ID) Shell Lower Upper Average Average Norm. limit Angstrom I error stat. Chi**2 Linear R-fac Square R-fac 20.00 5.98 6592.1 110.7 86.2 2.032 0.044 0.047 5.98 4.77 3833.6 60.8 49.6 2.020 0.060 0.065 4.77 4.17 3918.4 70.5 60.1 1.933 0.067 0.074 4.17 3.79 2396.8 57.0 51.5 1.377 0.078 0.079 3.79 3.52 1453.6 52.5 49.9 0.869 0.094 0.094 3.52 3.32 853.1 51.3 50.1 0.505 0.121 0.114 3.32 3.15 477.4 49.6 49.2 0.320 0.169 0.160 3.15 3.02 296.8 48.9 48.7 0.232 0.234 0.215 3.02 2.90 178.4 52.9 52.8 0.198 0.358 0.343 2.90 2.80 153.4 86.7 86.7 0.277 0.442 0.474 All reflections 2130.2 63.7 57.7 1.089 0.071 0.062

Model Building and Refinement

Further rigid body refinement of the model in CNX (Molecular Simulations, Inc) followed by minimization and group b-factor refinement gave an R-factor of 30.9% and a Free R-factor of 35.6% to 2.9 Å. During each cycle of refinement a bulk solvent correction was incorporated (Jiang et al., J. Mol. Biol. 243:100-15 (1994)). Progress of the refinement was monitored by a decrease in both the R-factor and Free R-factor.

At this point, inspection of the electron density map within the active site revealed electron density that was unaccounted for by the protein model and consistent with the shape of the inhibitor shown in FIG. 1 that was present in the crystallization conditions. Model building was done using the program CHAIN (Sack, Journal of Molecular Graphics, 6:224-25 (1988)) and LORE (Finzel, Meth. Enzymol., 277:230-42 (1997)). Modest rebuilding of the model into the 2.9 Å resolution map afforded the opportunity for further cycles of refinement (including the inhibitor) giving marginal improvement of the R-factor to 30.7% and a Free R-factor of 36.0%. Residues 158-170 and 311 to 316 were disordered in the electron density and therefore have been omitted from the model.

TABLE 7 Refinement Statistics for structure of Human Beta Secretase R- factor Free R-factor No. of reflections 20-2.9 Å F ≧ 2σ 0.307 0.360{tilde over (0)} 2767{tilde over (0)} Bonds (Å) Angles (°) r.m.s deviation from 0.012 1.8 ideal geometry Average Number of atoms B-factor Protein 5768 74.3 Ligand 82 18.7 Total 5850 73.5

Example 2 Crystallization and Structure Determination of Human Beta Secretase in P3₂21 Crystal Form

Examples of the crystallization and structure determination of human beta secretase in the P3₂21 crystal form are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/028,224, filed on Dec. 21, 2001, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/808,310, filed Mar. 14, 2001, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/747,421, filed Dec. 23, 2000.

Protein Crystallization

Based on observations of the initial screening effort, fresh protein derived from CHO cells was concentrated to 42 mg/ml and mixed with the inhibitor shown in FIG. 1 so that the final concentration of the mix was 40 mg/ml beta secretase, and 2 mM of the inhibitor shown in FIG. 1, in 20 mM Hepes pH 7.8, 10% DMSO. This preparation was screened with Hampton Screen 1 (Hampton Research, Laguna Nigel, Calif.) and Wizard Screen 1 (Emerald Biostructures, Bainbridge Island, Wash.) at room temperature (20° C.). 500-μL well volumes were used. A 1:1 ratio of protein-compound mix to the well solution was used in a hanging drop format to complete the screen. After 10 days, but less than 18 days later crystals were observed in Wizard Screen 1, Condition No. 45 (20% PEG 3000, 0.1 M NaOAc⁻ pH 4.5). Optimization and seeding efforts around this condition provided crystals that grew in 17-20% PEG 3000, 0.1M Na Acetate pH 4.5. Seeding was done utilizing a cat whisker which was touched to a drop containing microcrystals and stepwise diluted by streaking through one row of the optimization tray. Cross-seeding efforts provided crystals of HEK 293 cell derived protein (38 mg/ml in 20 mM Hepes pH 7.8, 50 mM NaCl, 10% DMSO, 2 mM of the inhibitor shown in FIG. 1) from CHO cell derived seed stock. Macroseeding by moving small crystals with a loop from the target drop to a fresh drop containing 17-20% PEG3000, 0.1M Na Acetate pH 4.5 also resulted in crystals that doubled or more in size, usually with a shower of microcrystals also. Crystals were obtained in hanging drop or sitting drop methods by seeding. Crystals obtained from streak seeding attempts were frozen in a cryoprotectant solution based on the mother liquor plus 20% Ethylene Glycol. The crystals were then soaked incrementally through 5% intervals of the cryoprotectant in 3 to 5-minute intervals. Crystals have also been grown in the presence of 10% glycerol or 10% ethylene glycol to facilitate stabilization into cryogenic solutions. In these cases, the crystals were soaked incrementally through 5% intervals of the cryoprotectant in 3 to 5-minute intervals. The use of other cryo agents would be apparent to one of skill in the art.

X-ray Diffraction Characterization

All data collection was carried out at the Advanced Photon Source (Argonne, Ill.) at beamline 17-ID. The crystals diffracted to 3.2 Å using synchrotron radiation. Crystals were of the space group P3₂21 with cell constants a=112±20 Å, b=112±20 Å, c=110±20 Å, α=β=90°, γ=120°. The Matthews coefficient for these crystals assuming that there is one molecules in the asymmetric unit is 3.5 Å/Da with 65% solvent. The structure determination (see below) revealed the presence of electron density in the active site appropriate for the inhibitor shown in, FIG. 1.

Molecular Replacement

A molecular replacement solution was determined using AMORE (Navaza, Acta Cryst., D50:157-63 (1994); Collaborative Computational Project N4, Acta Cryst. D50:760-3 (1994))) by utilizing a previously published model of human beta secretase, 1FKN, (Hong et al., Science 290:150-53 (2000)) made available from the Protein Data Bank. Using the 1FKN model, the initial rotation solution gave a single strong peak of 9.7σ with the next strongest peak appearing at 4.0σ. The final determination of the space group (P321, P3₁21, or P3₂21) was determined experimentally by testing translation searches in each space group. A translation search in the correct space group, P3₂21, resulted in a correlation coefficient of 55.1 with an R-factor of 39.9% to 4 Å resolution.

TABLE 8 Data collection statistics for structure of Human Beta Secretase (data collected at λ 1.0000 Å at APS, 17-ID) Resolution Range R_(sym)   20-6.81 0.048 6.81-5.44 0.095 5.44-4.77 0.112 4.77-4.33 0.113 4.33-4.03 0.181 4.03-3.79 0.224 3.79-3.60 0.248 3.60-3.45 0.288 3.45-3.31 0.321 3.31-3.20 0.324 All reflections 0.098

Model Building and Refinement

Further rigid body refinement of the model in CNX (Molecular Simulations, Inc) followed by minimization and group b-factor refinement gave an R-factor of 35.1% and a Free R-factor of 37.7% to 3.2 Å. During each cycle of refinement a bulk solvent correction was incorporated (Jiang et al., J. Mol. Biol. 243:100-15 (1994)). Progress of the refinement was monitored by a decrease in both the R-factor and Free R-factor.

At this point, inspection of the electron density map within the active site revealed electron density that was unaccounted for by the protein model and consistent with the shape of the inhibitor shown in FIG. 1 that was present in the crystallization conditions. Model building was done using the program CHAIN (Sack, Journal of Molecular Graphics 6:224-25 (1988)) and LORE (Finzel, Meth. Enzymol. 277:230-42 (1997)). Modest rebuilding of the model into the 3.2 Å low resolution map afforded the opportunity for further cycles of refinement giving improvement of the R-factor to 31.6% and a Free R-factor of 35.7%. Finally, the inhibitor was included in the refinement to give the current R-factor of 29.9% and a Free R-factor of 34.9%.

Inspection of the electron density throughout the molecule indicates that all three disulfide bonds are intact (Cys155-Cys359, Cys217-Cys382, and Cys269-Cys 319). In addition, the electron density near Asn92, Ans162, and Asn293, indicates the presence of glycosylation. Only the glycosylation at Asn111 is disordered enough not to be visible in the electron density map. Residues 158-170 and 311 to 317 were disordered in the electron density and therefore have been omitted from the model.

TABLE 9 Refinement Statistics for structure of Human Beta Secretase R-factor Free R-factor No. of reflections 20-3.2 Å F ≧ 2σ 0.2991 0.3483 9883 Bonds (Å) Angles (°) r.m.s deviation from ideal 0.012 1.7 geometry Number of atoms Average B-factor Protein 2880 65.24 Waters 41 74.89 Total 2921 65.38

The complete disclosure of all patents, patent applications including provisional applications, and publications, and electronically available material (e.g., GenBank amino acid and nucleotide sequence submissions; and protein data bank (pdb) submissions) cited herein are incorporated by reference. The foregoing detailed description and examples have been given for clarity of understanding only. No unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom. The invention is not limited to the exact details shown and described; many variations will be apparent to one skilled in the art and are intended to be included within the invention defined by the claims.

SEQUENCE LISTING FREE TEXT SEQ ID NO: 1 residues for the E. coli expressed recombinant human beta secretase SEQ ID NO: 2 residues for CHO cell expressed recombinant human beta secretase proteolytically cleaved with HIV protease (used for crystallization) SEQ ID NO: 3 synthetic peptide SEQ ID NO: 4 5′ sense oligonucleotide primer SEQ ID NO: 5 3′ antisense oligonucleotide primer 

1. A crystal of beta secretase having tetragonal space group symmetry P4₃2₁2.
 2. The crystal of claim 1 wherein the beta secretase comprises glycosylated beta secretase.
 3. A crystal of beta secretase according to claim 1 comprising a unit cell defined by the dimensions a, b, c, α, β, and γ, wherein a is about 94 Å to about 134 Å, b is about 94 Å to about 134 Å, c is about 170 Å to about 210 Å, and α=β=γ=90°.
 4. A crystal of beta secretase according to claim 1 and having a unit cell defined by the dimensions a, b, c, α, β, and γ, wherein a is about 94 Å to about 134 Å, b is about 94 Å to about 134 Å, c is about 170 Å to about 210 Å, and α=β=γ=90°.
 5. The crystal of claim 4 wherein the beta secretase has an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO:2.
 6. The crystal of claim 4 wherein the beta secretase has an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO:2, with the proviso that a methionine is replaced with selenomethionine.
 7. A crystal of beta secretase preferable by: modifying a human beta secretase by contacting the human beta secretase with an HIV protease under conditions sufficient to produce a proteolytically cleaved human beta secretase, wherein the N-terminus of the proteolytically cleaved human beta secretase differs from the N-terminus of the non-cleaved human beta secretase; and crystallizing the proteolytically cleaved human beta secretase.
 8. The crystal of claim 7 wherein the beta secretase is expressed in CHO cells.
 9. The crystal of claim 7 wherein the crystal has tetragonal space group symmetry P4₃2₁2.
 10. A molecule or molecular complex that forms a crystal having tetragonal space group symmetry P4₃2₁2 and comprises at least a portion of a human beta secretase or beta secretase-like binding pocket, wherein the binding pocket comprises the amino acids listed in Table 3 and the binding pocket is defined by a set of points having a root mean square deviation of less than about 0.45 Å from points representing the backbone atoms of said amino acids as represented by the structure coordinates listed in Table
 1. 11. The molecule or molecular complex of claim 10 wherein the molecule or molecular complex comprises glycosylated beta secretase.
 12. The molecule or molecular complex of claim 10 wherein the binding pocket comprises the amino acids listed in Table
 4. 13. The molecule or molecular complex of claim 10 wherein the binding pocket comprises the amino acids listed in Table
 5. 14. A computer-assisted method for identifying a potential modifier of human beta secretase activity comprising: supplying a computer modeling application with a set of structure coordinates of a molecule or molecular complex that forms a crystal having tetragonal space group symmetry P4₃2₁2, the molecule or molecular complex comprising at least a portion of a human beta secretase or beta secretase-like binding pocket, the binding pocket comprising the amino acids listed in Table 3; supplying the computer modeling application with a set of structure coordinates of a chemical entity; and determining whether the chemical entity is expected to bind to or interfere with the molecule or molecular complex, wherein binding to or interfering with the molecule or molecular complex is indicative of potential modification of human beta secretase activity.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein the binding pocket comprises the amino acids listed in Table 3, the binding pocket being defined by a set of points having a root mean square deviation of less than about 0.45 Å from points representing the backbone atoms of said amino acids as represented by structure coordinates listed in Table
 1. 16. The method of claim 14 wherein the binding pocket comprises the amino acids listed in Table 4, the binding pocket being defined by a set of points having a root mean square deviation of less than about 0.45 Å from points representing the backbone atoms of said amino acids as represented by structure coordinates listed in Table
 1. 17. The method of claim 14 wherein determining whether the chemical entity is expected to bind to or interfere with the molecule or molecular complex comprises performing a fitting operation between the chemical entity and a binding pocket of the molecule or molecular complex, followed by computationally analyzing the results of the fitting operation to quantify the association between the chemical entity and the binding pocket.
 18. The method of claim 14 further comprising screening a library of chemical entities.
 19. A method of using the crystal of claim 1 in a drug screening assay comprising: selecting a potential modifier by performing rational drug design with a three-dimensional structure determined for the crystal, wherein selecting is performed in conjunction with computer modeling; adding the potential modifier to a binding assay; and detecting a measure of binding, wherein a potential modifier that binds is selected as a potential drug. 